Vehicle entertainment system

ABSTRACT

A vehicle entertainment system includes a console positioned behind a vehicle seat and houses electronics of the vehicle entertainment system. A mount extends rearwardly from the console and is attached to headrest post guides of the vehicle seat by which the console is attached to the vehicle seat. A display screen is movably attached to the console for positioning between stowed and extended positions, wherein the display screen extends vertically upward from the console and is positioned behind and at about the same elevation of a headrest of the vehicle seat when in the extended position. The mount is low profile and does not interfere with the standard operation of the vehicle headrest.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 61/702,140, filed Sep. 17, 2012 and the benefit ofU.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/732,842, filed Jan. 10,2013, each of which are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to vehicle entertainmentsystems, and more particularly, relating to a rear seat vehicleentertainment system having a console fixedly mounted to a vehicle seatand a display screen movably attached to the console between stowed andextending positions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Rear seat entertainment systems for vehicles are well known in the art.Recently there has been a desire to mount or attach these entertainmentsystems to the headrest of a vehicle seat to position the entertainmentsystem behind the seat for viewing by a rear seated passenger. Attachingan entertainment system to the headrest eliminates many problems thatexisted with overhead mounted entertainment systems and with systemsthat are mounted within the headrest. Although the existing headrestmounted entertainment systems, devices, and methods meet theirrespective objective and requirements, they have many drawbacks. Onedrawback found in existing headrest mounted systems is the interferingwith the operation of the headrest that can result in the headrest beingimproperly positioned to properly protect a passenger seated the seat. Asecond drawback is an excessive strain that is placed on the vehicleheadrest in supporting the entertainment system. A third drawback is thedisplay screen is placed at too low of an elevation for most passengersto comfortably view.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention addresses one or more of theseneeds by providing a rear seat entertainment system having a low profilemounting bracket that is configured to attach to headrest post guidesrather than the headrest posts and without contacting the headrestposts.

Embodiments of the present invention also addresses one or more of theseneeds by providing a rear seat entertainment system having aconfiguration that locates system electronics separately from a movablydisplay screen to reduce stress and fatigue on the mount and headrestguide posts that otherwise would be induced each time display screen ispositioned.

To achieve these and other advantages, in one aspect a vehicleentertainment system includes a console mounted to and positioned behinda vehicle seat and houses electronics of the vehicle entertainmentsystem. A display screen is movably attached to the console forpositioning between stowed and extended positions, wherein the displayscreen extends vertically upward from the console and is positionedbehind and at about the same elevation of a headrest of the vehicle seatwhen in the extended position.

The display screen may be pivotally attached to the console for rotationtowards and away from the console between the stowed position and theextended position. The console may be mounted to headrest post guides ofthe vehicle seat. The console may be solely mounted to the headrest postguides of the vehicle seat.

To achieve these and other advantages, in another aspect a vehicleentertainment system includes a console positioned behind a vehicle seatand houses electronics of the vehicle entertainment system. A mountextends rearwardly from the console and is attached to headrest postguides of the vehicle seat by which the console is attached to thevehicle seat. A display screen is movably attached to the console forpositioning between stowed and extended positions, wherein the displayscreen extends vertically upward from the console and is positionedbehind and at about the same elevation of a headrest of the vehicle seatwhen in the extended position.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the invention in order that the detailed description thereofthat follows may be better understood and in order that the presentcontribution to the art may be better appreciated.

Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbe readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a readingof the following detailed description of presently preferred, butnonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out invarious ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions andshould not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantagesand the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be hadto the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there areillustrated embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings illustrate by way of example and are included toprovide further understanding of the invention for the purpose ofillustrative discussion of the embodiments of the invention. No attemptis made to show structural details of the embodiments in more detailthan is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, thedescription taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled inthe art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied inpractice. Identical reference numerals do not necessarily indicate anidentical structure. Rather, the same reference numeral may be used toindicate a similar feature of a feature with similar functionality. Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the a rear seat entertainment systemconstructed in accordance with the principles of an embodiment of thepresent invention, shown in use with a conventional vehicle seat andwith a display screen in an extended position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rear seat entertainment system,shown with the display screen in a stowed position;

FIG. 3 is a left side elevation view of the rear seat entertainmentsystem;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the rear seat entertainment system;

FIG. 5 is a right side elevation view of the rear seat entertainmentsystem;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the rear seat entertainment systemillustrated in accordance with an exemplary configuration;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the rear seat entertainment systemillustrated in accordance with another exemplary configuration; and

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of the rear seat entertainment systemillustrated in accordance with another exemplary configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring initially to FIGS. 1 through 6, there is representativelyillustrated an entertainment system 10 in accordance with an embodimentembodying the principles of the present invention. Entertainment system10 provides a new and specially designed rear seat entertainment system(RSE) for rear seated passengers to, among other aspects, listen tomusic, watch movies, surf the internet and play games.

Entertainment system 10 is configured for use in connection with aconventional vehicle seat 12 having a headrest 14. Pair of headrestposts 16 extend downwardly from the headrest and are telescopicallyreceived by a corresponding headrest post guides 18, which extend intothe vehicle seat from a top surface 20, to secure the headrest to thevehicle seat. The entertainment system 10 is attached or mounted to thevehicle seat 12 utilizing the headrest post guides 18 to position theentertainment system 10 behind the vehicle seat 12 for access by a rearseated passenger.

Entertainment system 10 is designed to prevent excess strain on theheadrest post guides 18 (and headrest posts 16 through the guides) whichthe devices heretofore do not contemplate. Entertainment system 10 isalso designed so that it does not interfere with the operation of theheadrest 14, and particularly, so that is does not interfere withpositioning the headrest at a required elevation for safety of the frontseated passenger. Also the entertainment system 10 is designed tomovably position a display screen of the system at eye level of the rearseated passenger.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1 through 6, entertainment system 10includes a console 22 that is configured to house the variouselectronics 24 of the entertainment system, such as, for example, anoptical disc player or the like. In this embodiment, console has aloading slot 25 through its top surface for a disc player 24. Those ofordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many differentconfigurations of the entertainment system 10 are feasible. Thus, forexample, electronics of the entertainment system 10 may include datadrives, disc drives or the like, memory devices, memory card readers,wireless and wired communication devices to permit connectivity betweenother entertainment systems 10 and/or other entertainment devices, suchas, but not limited to, smart phones, MP3 players, and tablet devices,etc. Thus it is to be understood the entertainment system 10 is not tobe limited in scope to the various electronic components that it maycomprise. It is desirable to position these electronic components 24within console 22.

In the illustrated configuration, entertainment system 10 includes oneor more USB connections 26, HDMI connection 28, smart card reader 30,A/V input 32, and audio out/microphone input 34. Of course otherelectrical connections to the entertainment system 10 may be included orsubstituted for any one of these exemplary connections. Theentertainment system 10 may also include a touch screen 36 for providinga user with various control selections to operate the entertainmentsystem. The touch screen 36 may be disposed on a forward facing surfaceor side of the console 22.

Console 22 is secured or mounted to the headrest post guides 18 by abracket 38 that extends rearwardly from the console so as to positionthe console 22 at a location behind the vehicle seat 12. The console 22generally depends downwardly from bracket 38 and may rest against theback side 40 of the vehicle seat 12.

A display screen 42, supported by frame 44, is pivotally attached to theconsole 22 for rotation towards and away from the console between astowed position (seen in FIG. 2) and an extended position (seen in FIG.1.). In the stowed position, the display screen 42 lays generally flatagainst or nearly against the front side 46 of the console 22. In theextended position, the display screen 42 extends vertically upward fromthe console 22 and is positioned behind and at about the same elevationof the headrest 14. In this position, the display screen is at about eyelevel for the average rear seated passenger. In an embodiment, notshown, the display screen 42 may be slidably attached or otherwisemovably attached to the console 22 for positioning between the stowedand extended positions. Console 22 is configured such that the touchscreen 36 is accessible by a user whether the display screen 42 is inthe stowed or extend position.

With reference particularly to FIG. 6, bracket 38 includes a firstmember 48 and a second member 50 that is perpendicular to and slidablyattached to the first member by sliding coupling 54. The first member 48extends laterally between the headrest post guides 18 and is secured atopposite ends 50, 52 to a corresponding headrest post guide. The firstmember 48 is extendable to adjust to the spacing between the headrestpost guides 18. The second member 50 may be integral with the console 22or otherwise attached to the console such that it extends rearwardlyfrom the console. Coupling 54 permits the second bracket member 50 to bemoved relative to the first bracket member 48 along a forward/aftdirection relative to the vehicle seat 12 to adjust to the thickness ofseat to properly position the console behind the seat. Coupling 54 isoperated to lock the relative position between the first and secondmembers 48 and 50. Bracket 38 may embody the bracket assembly describedby commonly owned and pending patent application Ser. No. 13/790,318,filed Mar. 8, 2013, the entirety of which is incorporated herein byreference.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, display screen latches 56, 58 extendoutwardly from the front side 46 of the console 22. Latches 56 and 58are laterally spaced about a distance that is equal to the width of thedisplay screen 42 and frame 44 such that when the display screen is inthe stowed position, the latches 56 and 58 engage opposite sides of theframe and retain the display screen and frame in the stowed position.Latches 56 and 58 are operable to disengage with the frame 44 and toallow the frame and display screen 42 is be rotated into the extendedposition. In an embodiment, latches 56, 58 are entirely made of aresilient material, such as, but not limited to a rubber material or thelike, so that the latches do not prevent a safety hazard for a rearseated passenger from impacting or contacting the latches. Console 22may also be fitted with stops 60, 62 on the front side 46 to provide acushioned contact between the display screen 42 and the console.

Console 22 may also be configured to include one or more pockets 68 onopposite sides for receiving and holding various portable electronics,such as telephones, MP3 players, etc.

Entertainment system 10 may also include wireless connectivity foruni-directional or bi-directional communication with various otheraudio/visual components. For example, entertainment system 10 mayinclude IR, RF, Wi-Fi, wireless FM modulation and/or Bluetoothconnectivity to connect wireless headphones, wireless remote controls,smart phones and tablet computers and the like for audio/visualstreaming to the entertainment system and/or connecting theentertainment system to internet hotspots.

It is also contemplated that the display screen 42 is an LED, OLED, LCDscreen and may also be a capacitive touch screen to provide a graphicaluser interface for a use to interact with the entertainment system. Theentertainment system 10 may also include a rear facing camera 64 toenable video conferencing through various applications. The camera 64may be located on frame 44 or at another suitable location on console22. The entertainment system 10 may also include an IR transceiver 66 tofacilitate IR connectivity, for example, with headphone and/or remotecontrol units. The IR transceiver 66 may be located on frame 44 or atanother suitable location on console 22.

It is also contemplated that the entertainment system 10 may be providedwith pre-loaded programs that facilitate, for example, user socialnetworking, internet web browsing, gaming, video streaming from varioussubscriber movie on demand applications (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc.).

It will be readily appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in thisfield that many different software and hardware configurations arepossible for the entertainment system 10, and the entertainment system10 should not be limited to the specific hardware and softwareconfigured discussed above.

Turning to FIG. 7, there is diagrammatically illustrated entertainmentsystem 10 in an exemplary configuration in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention, including a smartphone 70 connected to theentertainment system via a wireless connection 72 to stream audio and/orvideo to the entertainment system. Wireless connection 72 may be a Wi-FiDLNA connection or another other suitable wireless connection. Althougha wireless connection 72 is illustrated, smartphone 70 could beconnected to the entertainment system 10 via a wired connection such asthrough a USB connection.

Turning to FIG. 8, there is diagrammatically illustrated entertainmentsystem 10 in an exemplary configuration in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention, including two separate entertainment systems10 that are connected for bi-directional communication across wirelessconnection 74. Media can be played and viewed from either entertainmentsystem via the wireless connection 74. Similarly, wireless connection 74may be a Wi-Fi DLNA connection or another other suitable wirelessconnection. And wireless connection 74 could be substituted by a wiredconnection between the entertainment systems 10.

Turning to FIG. 9, there is diagrammatically illustrated entertainmentsystem 10 in an exemplary configuration in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention, including one or more entertainment systems 10and a vehicle head unit 76 connected to the one or more entertainmentsystems via a wireless connection 78, 80 to stream audio and/video tothe entertainment systems. As discussed above, wireless connection 78,80 may be a Wi-Fi DLNA connection or another other suitable wirelessconnection. And wireless connection 78, 80 could be substituted by awired connection between the entertainment systems 10. Optionally, areview view camera 82 may be connectable to the head unit via wirelessor wired connection 84.

It should now be apparent that an important distinction between theentertainment system 10 according to embodiments of the presentinvention and existing entertainment systems that mount or secure to avehicle seat/headrest is found in the location of the system electronicsseparately from the display screen, and particularly, the placement ofthe system electronics within the console. Existing entertainmentsystems locate the system electronics within the same housing as thedisplay screen, and as a result the housing is relatively heavy andplaces strain on the mount of the housing each time the display screenis adjusted. In addition, co-location of system electronics with thedisplay screen prevents system modulation, wherein different displayscreens and/or other audio/visual components are not modular with theentertainment system.

Accordingly, by locating the system electronics separately from thedisplay screen system modulation is more readily available. Further, bylocating the system electronics within system mount the electronics areheld stationary with the bracket and strain is not placed on the bracketwhen adjusting the position of screen. Further yet, by locating systemelectronics within the console the electronics are moved closer to theattachment point between the bracket and the vehicle seat, e.g. theheadrest post guides and thus torque loading is reduced on theattachment point which in turn reduces part fatigue and increases partlife.

A number of embodiments of the present invention have been described.Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims.

1. A vehicle entertainment system comprising: a console mounted to andpositioned behind a vehicle seat, said console housing electronics ofthe vehicle entertainment system; and a display screen movably attachedto said console for positioning between stowed and extended positions,wherein said display screen extends vertically upward from said consoleand is positioned behind and at about the same elevation of a headrestof the vehicle seat when in said extended position.
 2. The entertainmentsystem of claim 1, wherein said display screen is pivotally attached tosaid console for rotation towards and away from said console betweensaid stowed position and said extended position.
 3. The entertainmentsystem of claim 1, wherein said console is mounted to headrest postguides of the vehicle seat.
 4. The entertainment system of claim 3,wherein said console is solely mounted to the headrest post guides ofthe vehicle seat.
 5. A vehicle entertainment system comprising: aconsole positioned behind a vehicle seat, said console housingelectronics of the vehicle entertainment system; a mount extendingrearwardly from said console, said mount attached to headrest postguides of the vehicle seat by which said console is attached to thevehicle seat; and a display screen movably attached to said console forpositioning between stowed and extended positions, wherein said displayscreen extends vertically upward from said console and is positionedbehind and at about the same elevation of a headrest of the vehicle seatwhen in said extended position.
 6. The entertainment system of claim 5,wherein said display screen is pivotally attached to said console forrotation towards and away from said console between said stowed positionand said extended position.
 7. The entertainment system of claim 5,wherein said console is solely mounted to the headrest post guides ofthe vehicle seat.
 8. The entertainment system of claim 5, wherein saidmount extends rearwardly from said console at a position adjacent to arear top edge of said console.
 9. The entertainment system of claim 8,wherein said console downwardly depends from said mount.
 10. Theentertainment system of claim 5, wherein said console includes one ormore recesses configured to removably hold an article.
 11. Theentertainment system of claim 5, further comprising: first and secondlatch members extending forwardly from said console, said first andsecond latch members configured to grip opposite sides of said monitorand releasable retain said monitor in said stowed position.
 12. Theentertainment system of claim 11, wherein each of said first and saidsecond latch members are entirely made of a resilient material.
 13. Theentertainment system of claim 5, wherein said display screen ispositioned behind the vehicle seat at an elevation substantially belowthe headrest of the vehicle seat when in said stowed position.
 14. Theentertainment system of claim 9, wherein said console is rigidlyattached to said mount.
 15. The entertainment system of claim 1, whereinsaid display screen is positioned behind the vehicle seat at anelevation substantially below the headrest of the vehicle seat when insaid stowed position.
 16. A vehicle entertainment system comprising: aconsole positioned behind a vehicle seat, said console housingelectronics of the vehicle entertainment system; a mount extendingrearwardly from said console at a position adjacent to a rear top edgeof said console, said mount attached to headrest post guides of thevehicle seat and attaching said console the vehicle seat; and a displayscreen movably attached to said console for positioning between stowedand extended positions, wherein said display screen extends verticallyupward from said console and is positioned behind and at about the sameelevation of a headrest of the vehicle seat when in said extendedposition, and wherein said display screen is positioned behind thevehicle seat at an elevation substantially below the headrest of thevehicle seat when in said stowed position.